Statistics show that water damage from leaks, in the context of residential water supply, may account for almost a quarter of all homeowner property losses, which can add up to a staggering 9.1 billion USD annually. Water supply lines typically have a line that may be turned off by manually rotating a valve in the water supply line.
While several automatic water shutoff systems exist on the market, existing automatic devices typically require the installation of a separate valve, in addition to the existing manual shut-off valve. Installing the separate valve requires cutting into the existing pipes, necessitating a professional installation by a plumber or other trained technician, significantly raising the cost to the consumer. In addition, existing automatic water shutoff valves are typically powered by electrical motors. As such, automatic shutoff valves typically need to be installed near an electrical power source or otherwise provided with sufficient battery power, which may require replacement depending on the frequency of the usage of the valve.
These and other shortcoming of existing automatic valve systems may limit widespread adoption of automatic valve shutoff devices by consumers, which as described results in losses that could be prevented.